HAB INFORMATION E-MAIL
Volume 12, Issue 1
January 2, 2009
HRSA/HAB NEWS
- HAB’s Douglas Morgan Receives Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service
- Data Help: What’s Available?
- New Quality Management Guide for Part B Grantees
- New TA Cooperative Agreements: Sphere Institute Focuses on Data
- GAO Report on Impact of Cap on Administrative Services for Part D Grantees
OTHER NEWS
- Report Highlights Developments from XVII International AIDS Conference
- Mental health AIDS” Addresses Telephone/Internet Mental Health Interventions
- New Members Named to Adult and Adolescent Guidelines Panel
- 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference Abstracts: Deadline Extended to January 5
- CDC Surveillance Report Looks at HIV/AIDS Cases in Urban and Rural Areas
HRSA/HAB NEWS
HAB's Douglas Morgan Receives Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service
Douglas Morgan, Director of the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau's Division of Service Systems (DSS), has received the Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service for his outstanding leadership in guiding the DSS staff to rapidly implement changes called for in the reauthorized Ryan White legislation of 2006. The Ryan White Part A and Part B (former Title I and Title II) programs were changed by the new law in several areas, such as using HIV living cases instead of AIDS cases for determining funding, the addition of five new jurisdictions as Part A grantees, revision of the Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) into a competitive grant program, and new requirements under the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
Congratulations Doug and your DSS team for a job well done!
Data Help: What’s Available?
An array of technical assistance and other help is in place for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantees on implementing the client level data reporting requirements under the Ryan White Services Report (RSR). In addition to assistance from HRSA/HAB project officers, TA is available for Part A, B, C, and F grantees on data collection and submission under the RSR. To access available TA, contact your HRSA/HAB project officer or email. Also see the RSR Web page on the TARGET Center.
General questions about data reporting, such as the data elements in RSR, can be answered by WRMA/CSR Data Support at 888-640-9356, Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm, ET or via email.
In addition, Part D grantees can assess their readiness for client level data under the RSR by contacting their HRSA/HAB project officers or Cicatelli Associates.
See these resources and additional information on the TARGET Center's “Sources of TA” page, under Data.
New Quality Management Guide for Part B Grantees
The “NQC Guide for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part B Grantees” is designed to help Part B-funded States and Territories to initiate or refine their quality management-related activities. The Guide is designed to:
Provide a framework for the quality improvement activities of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded Part B programs;
- Present basic elements of a State-wide Part B quality management program;
- Describe the process for forming a quality management committee;
- Present examples of specific Part B program quality activities; and
- Provide quality-related tools that can be adapted by Part B programs.
The Guide focuses on the lessons learned from the NQC’s work with Part B programs, including the Part B Collaborative Demonstration Project and the Low-Incidence Initiative. It takes the lessons learned from Part B programs participating in these Collaboratives and from the provision of onsite TA by experienced NQC consultants and makes them available to the wider audience of all Part B programs, their staff, and subgrantees. View the Guide.
New TA Cooperative Agreements: Sphere Institute Focuses on Data
Cooperative agreements with partnering national organizations are just one of the vehicles HRSA/HAB uses to provide TA and training to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantees. Efforts funded under the cooperative agreements are designed to help grantees address challenges related to service delivery, engaging people in care and keeping them in care, data, fiscal management, and other areas. Over the next few issues of HAB Information E-mail, we will be profiling these national training and technical assistance cooperative agreements.
The Sphere Institute Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Team provides help to Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantees in the transition from aggregate to individual client level data collection under the Ryan White Services Report (RSR). Sphere TTA Team members support the initiation of unique client identifier algorithms and encryption technology to effectively de-duplicate client records. The TTA Team works with grantees and providers to strengthen their ability to collect unduplicated, valid, and reliable client level demographic, service, and clinical outcome data that meets RSR system requirements for timely twice-yearly reporting to HRSA/HAB. The Team is also available to assist grantees to use the RSR system data for internal program accountability purposes, to improve quality of key program processes, and to evaluate key client outcomes and impacts.
Sphere TTA is tailored to the unique needs of grantees using one of four data system types, including: major IT systems; commercial electronic health record or other clinical management systems; custom, agency-specific systems; or paper or spreadsheet-based systems. Specific TA activities include:
Assess Part A, B, C and F grantees' capacity to collect necessary RSR data;
- Provide grantee-specific onsite training and TA related to data collection issues;
- Provide online TTA materials;
- Respond to requests for individualized and group assistance; and
- Convene in-person presentations at meetings attended by grantees.
Additional information about this and other TA cooperative agreements for the Ryan White Community is available on the TARGET Center's "Sources of TA".
GAO Report on Impact of Cap on Administrative Services for Part D Grantees
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines the impact of the 10 percent cap on administrative services for Part D grantees, which took effect in FY 2007 under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment and Modernization Act of 2006. In response to the GAO survey, 83 grantees reported that they provide a variety of medical and support services to clients, with the majority saying that they have not made changes in response to the cap. The majority of the respondents said that the cap has not affected the services they provide. Four respondents reported increasing services and three reported reducing services because of the cap. The majority of grantees also said that the cap has had a negative impact on their Part D programs even if it has not affected services. View the complete report.
OTHER NEWS
Report Highlights Developments from XVII International AIDS Conference
A new report examines developments reported at the XVII International AIDS Conference, which was held in August in Mexico City. Developments discussed in the report include an increased focus on basic science and innate immunity; how efforts to increase antiretroviral access are being hindered by co-infections, a lack of infrastructure, and differential access between adults and children; clinics trials; prevention efforts combining structural, behavioral, and biomedical factors; the effect of antiretrovirals on HIV transmission; health system strengthening; and human rights. View the report.
Mental health AIDS” Addresses Telephone/Internet Mental Health Interventions
A new issue of "mental health AIDS," a quarterly biopsychosocial research update on HIV and mental health, addresses HIV-related mental health interventions delivered through telephone and Internet technology. Greater retention in care appears to result from telephone-administered psychotherapy, which was found to produce significant reductions in depressive symptoms in a recent meta-analysis. This issue examines telephone-based intervention research that has focused on the treatment of depressive symptoms in men and women living with HIV, with particular emphasis on extending services to those who are living with HIV in rural America. The relative merits of cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal psychotherapy, and their effectiveness when administered by telephone to this population, are discussed. Also included is a discussion of research on the use of Internet technology both to evaluate depressive symptoms and to automatically generate tailored self-care management strategies for those who are living with HIV. View this issue.
New Members Named to Adult and Adolescent Guidelines Panel
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents (a working group of the Office of AIDS Research Council) has named new members to the Panel. The new members will begin a 4-year term beginning February 2009. New scientific members include: Robert Dodge, PhD, RN, ANP (University of North Carolina); Christopher Gordon, PhD. (National Institute of Mental Health, NIH); Michael Hughes, PhD (Harvard University); William Kapogiannis, MD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH); Daniel Kuritzkes, MD (Harvard University); and Mark Sulkowski, MD (Johns Hopkins University). Nelson Vergel of Houston will join as a community representative.
Three long-standing members will conclude their services in February 2009 and have contributed significantly to the development and updating of the guidelines over the years. Departing members include: A. Cornelius Baker (National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition); Charles Carpenter, MD (Brown Medical School); and Suzanne Willard, PhD, CRNP (Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation).
Find out more about the guidelines.
2009 National HIV Prevention Conference Abstracts: Deadline Extended to January 5
The sixth National HIV Prevention Conference, “Promoting Synergy Between Science and Program: Innovation and Action to End the Epidemic,” convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public, private, and government agencies, will take place August 23-26, 2009 in Atlanta. This conference covers the entire spectrum of HIV prevention, from science to programs. It will bring together HIV prevention experts and advocates from various backgrounds and communities nationwide. The deadline for abstracts has been extended to January 5.
For more information about abstract submission or other questions regarding the conference.
CDC Surveillance Report Looks at HIV/AIDS Cases in Urban and Rural Areas
A new HIV/AIDS Surveillance Supplemental Report explores cases of HIV infection and AIDS in urban and rural areas of the United States in 2006. According to the CDC, while the HIV epidemic continues to be predominantly urban, there is a growing number of people diagnosed and living with HIV infection in rural areas. In 2006, 2,696 cases of AIDS were reported among adults and adolescents (age 13 years and older) from rural areas and 26,154 adults and adolescents were estimated to be living with AIDS in rural areas. See the report.
In addition to the resources listed above, don’t forget to check out these other HAB resources, which are updated regularly.
TARGET Center, Central Source for Ryan White TA
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